Customer Reviews

Let's Go 2001: Southeast Asia: The World's Bestselling Budget Travel Series

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I don't think this book is in any way a bad travel book, but it could be better. Generally, there is not enough detail, and there aren't enough maps. There are maps of all major cities, but the maps aren't detailed enough and then if you go to a place even a little off the path of the everyday tourist, there won't be a map at all. I think this book simply takes on too much. Most travelers will never see all these countries in one trip, so they end up with a lot of wasted paper and packing space. If I could do it again, I would buy the Lonely Planet guides to the individual countries. The writer who does the research for LP in Thailand in Laos is a well-known expert. You'll get more detail and better information. Besides, the new LP for Southeast Asia just came out, so that makes the debate between Let's Go and Lonely Planet pretty easy.
I recently saw Wat Phu in Laos. I had photocopied part of Lonely Planet:Laos and I also had my Let's Go book with me. Let's go was worthless compared to LP, even though LP:Laos came out in 1998. I had a map of the temple and tons of history on it. It was like having a tour guide, without having to hear the bad English.

This book contains the most current information on the market for backpacking in Southeast Asia. The depth of the research is outstanding, with authoritative information on where to get the best pempek in Palembang, whom to hire to cook your octopus on Pulau Nias, and how to get your poste restante from the central post office in Medan. The maps have obviously been checked by a rigorous routine of trekking up and down every street, and the prose has the characteristic golden polish that always sets Let's Go above its competitors. Good job, guys.